Safety enhancement in maritime transportation: SEAHORSE Project

Human factors have been the main cause and a major contributing factor of numerous maritime accidents, such as the Exxon Valdez, Herald of Free Enterprise and the Costa Concordia. Despite the fact that safety standards and technological developments in maritime industry have been increased, accidents are still occurring since the limitations of the human being is underestimated. The aviation industry which is in many aspects similar to the maritime sector has been approaching the same problem systematically and developing advanced methodologies and techniques. The EU FP7 funded SEAHORSE (Safety Enhancements in transport by Achieving Human Orientated Resilient Shipping Environment) project aims to transfer the effective and successful safety concepts utilised in the aviation industry, adapting and tailoring them to the unique needs of maritime transport. The project has the potential to create a significant impact, at not only a European level but also an International one, in making the ship operation a safe, resilient, attractive and efficient environment. In this study, an overview of the SEAHORSE project is presented. Recent progress and future directions of the project is given in conclusion.